Yangon City Tour 1st part; the Shwedagon Pagoda

The origin of Shwedagon Pagoda materialized in brilliant epoch in Buddhist history 2,600 years ago. In India, Prince Siddhartha had just attained Buddhahood when he was visited by two brothers, merchants from Myanmar who offered gift of honey cakes. In return, Buddha personally removed eight hairs from his head and gave these to the two brothers for enshrinement in their native town of Okkalapa (Yangon). King Okkalapa enshrined Buddha's hairs together with the relics of three Buddha's before him... Because it contained it contained relics of the four Buddha's who had attained Enlightenment, it was known as Shwedagon Pagoda, the Reliquary of the four. Shwedagon Pagoda height is 326 ft (about 100m) placed on a hill with a height of 190 ft above sea level.Salient points to be observed by the Pilgrims/Visitors;1. Must not wear ladies blouse with wide and deep hives

2. Must not wear wear (above knee) short pants and skirts.3. Must not wear shoes, stocks and stockings.

How to go to Shwedagon Pagoda;

From Yangon Central Railway Station, take a cab and negotiate a fare of 2,000kyat ($2) max. Travel time is around 10 minutes only from here. Entrance fee is 8,000kyat ($8) which includes 1-time entry (no re-entry allowed on the same ticket) and brochure map. FREE WIFI inside (strong signal is on the part near office, infront of the Shwedagon Pagoda, left of the entrance)